Pre-Pregnancy
Post-Pregnancy
Most people start a diet expecting big results fast and that's not usually how things work. Average weight loss per week on weight watchers is 0.5lb - 1.5lb a week. This means that there are bigger weeks and then there are weeks that are smaller or even possibly a maintain or gain. I've seen it all in my 5+ years on program. It always starts out big and then tapers off as your body recovers from the shock of less calories.
Above are two charts that show my weight loss. The first one is my first 3 years before I got pregnant and the second one is the last 18 months since Brady was born. So take into account that the second one is only half the amount of time as the first. As you can see both started out going down really fast, then they started to level out. You can see in the first chart how I've gone up and down, although never close to gaining it all back (except when I was pregnant). It's tough losing weight and even harder keeping it off. Those who stick with it are those who understand it's a process that's not going to result in 30lbs lost in 2 months.
Since I gained last week, it makes me worry about bouncing up again or hitting a plateau. I've had hot streaks like this before and they don't last forever, so I'm always thinking it's going to end at any time. Before this current hot streak, I was stuck in a plateau from Thanksgiving to the beginning of April, bouncing between 172lbs and 170lbs. It's a tough place to be mentally because you just feel like throwing in the towel and as shown by my first chart, I've done just that before. Gaining 15lbs because you're tired of being stuck in a plateau doesn't make you feel any better. Especially, when you start thinking that you have to take it all off again. When you hit a plateau, it helps to chart your entire weight loss and look at the trend. If it's a slow, steady, downward trend, you need to focus on that.
Above are two charts that show my weight loss. The first one is my first 3 years before I got pregnant and the second one is the last 18 months since Brady was born. So take into account that the second one is only half the amount of time as the first. As you can see both started out going down really fast, then they started to level out. You can see in the first chart how I've gone up and down, although never close to gaining it all back (except when I was pregnant). It's tough losing weight and even harder keeping it off. Those who stick with it are those who understand it's a process that's not going to result in 30lbs lost in 2 months.
Since I gained last week, it makes me worry about bouncing up again or hitting a plateau. I've had hot streaks like this before and they don't last forever, so I'm always thinking it's going to end at any time. Before this current hot streak, I was stuck in a plateau from Thanksgiving to the beginning of April, bouncing between 172lbs and 170lbs. It's a tough place to be mentally because you just feel like throwing in the towel and as shown by my first chart, I've done just that before. Gaining 15lbs because you're tired of being stuck in a plateau doesn't make you feel any better. Especially, when you start thinking that you have to take it all off again. When you hit a plateau, it helps to chart your entire weight loss and look at the trend. If it's a slow, steady, downward trend, you need to focus on that.
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